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Severed Ways
Severed Ways, the directorial debut
of the heretofore unheard of Tony Stone, is a queer beast indeed. A
sort of Viking road movie, the film is set in the year AD 1007 and
follows the exploits of two burly Norsemen, a blond and a brunette, as
they traipse about what is now the continental United States in search
of the exploration party from which they have become separated.
Over the course of the feature’s generous
107 minute runtime the pair get up to all sorts of macho stuff like
felling trees, making offerings to Odin, hunting, taking dumps in the
woods, getting grudge-fucked by a randy squaw and exchanging blokey, if
sparse, banter, of which the following is a smattering:
Brunette Viking: ‘I caught this fucking
fish, so don’t try to hog it all.’
Blond Viking: ‘Aw, shut up.’
At one point the point comment that the
fish is ‘killer,’ and later on the thought is even expressed that if
they stay in their present location much longer they’ll be ‘toast’ on
account of the marauding Natives. Now, I’m no linguist, but I suspect
that some attempt is being made here to modernise the Nordic dialects of
the 11th century. This is far from the only anachronism
however; at one point Blondie engages in a lengthy headbanging session
to Dimmu Borgir.
This moment, like several others, is
undoubtedly unintentionally humorous, but the relentlessly dramatic
material is presented so earnestly that you can’t help but end up
rooting for Stone, who also portrays one of the stoic duo. For a
no-budget film the director has also cobbled together a distinctly
impressive soundtrack, featuring black metal A-listers like Burzum and
Morbid Angel alongside more unlikely offerings courtesy of Melissa Auf
der Mar and Queens of the Stone Age. The songs have been well-chosen
and are used to good effect within the film – one moment, when a church
is burned to the apt refrain of the Norwegian Borgir - is particularly
cool, and the link between the conqueror psyche of bygone eras and the
present day neatly encapsulated. The contrasts between Pagan traditions
of the Middle Ages and the encroaching onslaught of Christianity are
also dissected, all but literally, and expository flashback sequences of
the duo’s homeland feature some of the most striking and ably captured
footage of the entire piece.
In many ways this is a bizarre and
unapologetically idiosyncratic work, but it’s also daringly
experimental, decidedly different and likely to appeal to a broader
audience, if given a chance, than just curious headbangers and Viking
recreationists.
Audio & Video
Much in made in the promotional material of
the film’s ‘throbbing black metal soundtrack’, and with good reason –
it’s actually pretty great. Varg Vikernes synth instrumentals double as
a score, and the ‘Old Norse’ 5.1 soundtrack is a pulsating, textured and
eminently impressive affair. Picture quality varies, with some of the
nocturnal scenes decidedly grainy, but overall picture quality is mostly
respectable without being outstanding. Be warned however – the film
features the jumpiest, most extensive use of the handycam since The
Blair Witch Project. If that film made you queasy, Severed Ways
will have you projectile vomiting by the end of the first scene.
Special Features
There are six minutes of deleted footage,
most of a fairly ambient and impressionistic ilk. Also on offer are
theatrical trailers and the usual Madman propaganda. |
